Policing agencies in Alberta, including Taber Police, are waiving the criminal record check and fingerprint fee for Indigenous people who wish to reclaim their Indigenous name. (File photo: LNN)

By Justin Goulet

Police in Alberta waive fees for people reclaiming Indigenous names

Sep 27, 2023 | 3:14 PM

TABER, AB – A change that will impact members of the Indigenous population has been announced.

On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the Alberta Chiefs of Police Association, and the AACP Policing with Indigenous Peoples Committee said all police agencies in the province will waive the criminal record check and fingerprint fee for Indigenous people who wish to reclaim their Indigenous name.

The decision supports the following recommendation listed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action report:

“We call upon all levels of government to enable residential school survivors and their families to reclaim names changed by the residential school system by waiving administrative costs for a period of five years for the name-change process and the revision of official identity documents, such as birth certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, health cards, status cards, and social insurance numbers.”

The Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police noted that currently, the Government of Alberta waives the application fees for residential school survivors and individuals who were part of the Sixties Scoop that wish to reclaim their Indigenous name. Descendants like children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and spouses/partners of survivors are also eligible for name changes.

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More information is available at the provincial government website.

In Alberta, anyone who is requesting a legal name change is required to undergo both a criminal record check and fingerprints. The payment for these services falls within the scope of Alberta policing agencies. To help remove barriers for all Indigenous peoples who wish to complete a name change, the decision was made to waive that charge for those seeking to reclaim their Indigenous name.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now.

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